THE TRANSVAAL.

Evening Star, Issue 10342, 16 June 1897, Page 2

THE TRANSVAAL.

'[Pfflt ]' LDKIXJQSFk June 15. The Pretoria correspondent-«f 'The Times'sayS that feeling in tba Transvaal in not of a hopeful character, as it ,is not believed thafr Mr- Chamberlain will agree to submit to arbitmtkra the subjects in, dispute between England and the Bepublio in breaches o£thel/qndoß Convention.

President KrugerVwply-to tit Chamberlain, throwing respons bilfcy in regard to the alleged breaches of the London Convention upon the Yolksraad, is regarded (says the Cape Town correspondent of the 'Daily Telegraph ') as opening out possibilities of friotion and delay, lam assured, however, by high Transvaal and Free State authorities that the President is anxious to main-, tain the Convention, and his infloenoe will suffioe to prevent any rupture. The Brussels • Patriote' reproduces a report whioh has been printed in several German papera that a combination has been headed by Germany in order to checkmate England in her supposed designs in South: Africa, and to protect Belgian Congo interests against, British aggression. This action is said to be largely inspired by the Germain Emperor's sympathy for King Leopold. In delivering judgment in the action for damages brought by Mr Alfred Beit against. Herr Reismann, a member of the staff of the ' Rheinisoh-Westfiilisohe Zeitung,' the Court found it to be "proved beyond doubt that the German Empire had a great interest in the status quo in the Transvaal r as- was demonstrated, above all, by the telegram of the German Emperor to President Kruger," How do we stand now with the Transvaal Government from the point of view of diplomacy ? The situation disclosed by the Sublioation of the despatches in the latest lue Book is only too plain. In Mr Chamberlain's despatch of the 6th of March he has definitely formulated the grievances of the British Government:— (1) Non-communication of treaties. Reference being made to (a) the Netherlands Treaty, ratified last June without Bubmigsfon for our approval according .to-sth* London Convention-, (6) the Geneva Convention'; and (c) the Portuguese Treaty, not yet submitted, though Lord Ripon called attention to the matter more than two years ago. (2) The Aliens Immigration Law. (3) The AUen».Expqlsjlon Law. (4) The l*ress Law. In all these breaches of the Convention the Transvaal has taken the initiative. So far as the non-reference of the treaties is concerned, the matter is rather technical; butjthe legitl >tion agaimt which we have now protested is a continuing breach, which at any moment, in connection with any of these.attempts to deprive British subjects of their rights under the Londou Convention, might involve us in_ a question of substantial and material damage, requiring redress. The latest Blue Book closes with a formal protest at Pretoria by Mr Conynjham Greene against the stopping of Mr De Kook, a Johannesburg attorney and a J.P., at the frontier under the immigration law; and it is obvious that when these protests once b>gin a very little more aggression and obstinacy at Pretoria would make passivity and conciliation on our side impossible any further. That is a result to be avoided by every self-respecting meaus. We have exercised great patienoe, and we ought to continue to he patient. But if the Boers insist upon maintaining an aggressive attitude, and evince no signs of a desire to come to terms on matters in which, according to the Convention whereby we gave them their indepeudenc?, they are dearly in the wrong, we must be in a position to show, both, to them and to the world, that we really are the paramount Power in South Africa. President Kruger is said to have replied to Mr Chamberlain thaVthe aots complained of-are acts of the Volksraad. That is a mere detail. We are not conoerned with hew the Transvaal law* jure made, but what thsyare. We have nothing t) reproach ourselves with in our conduot towards the Transvaal since the Jameson raid. We wish for peace, and so does Cape Colonv, as is shown by the recent debate in the Cape Parliament. If the situation is threatening it is due to the partiality of the Transvaal Government for breaking their engagements, and the obstinacy they display when we ask, however politely, for the maintenance of their obligations. 'St. James's Gazette.' A Jingo feeling is creeping into a section of the London Press, and the cry is being taken up by the music halls, much as it was during the Penjdeh incident in 1886. The recent announcement of the Secretary of the Admiralty (Mr Goschcn), that Great Britain was determined to back her High Commissioner in South Africa with all the power of the Empire, was referred to in the music halls and greeted with uproarious applause. All the songs being sung in these places of amusement during the latter days of April were : distinctly hostile to President Kruger, to Germany, and to Holland; and J. K. Jerome, in his paper * To-Day' voiced one side of that warlike feeling. He wrote editorially: "By all means let us fight and win the Transvaal. We are going to fight for gold mines and territory, if they cannot be got without fighting. Every nation has to play pirate at times, and let us play boldly when we do, and trust to Mr Chamberlain to see flags of truce kept out of the soldiers' baggage. Thrice the Boers have seen the nag of England hoisted on a stick, and alwaj* white. It is time to prove that we have a colored flag."